“What they worry about is our fear,” Tracy Winchell told the League of Women Voters of Fort Smith during a monthly luncheon Monday at Golden Corral. “What would happen if they’re trying to rescue me and I start freaking out? My fear is what puts me in danger, what puts these firefighters in danger, and I’m talking police officers, too.”

Winchell told the league that specialized citizens academies help bridge the gap between Fort Smith and its residents.

“Most of us are only going to learn these things if we need to be rescued, maybe cut out of a car,” she said. “Adrenaline has kicked in, all of these things have kicked in, and we don’t know this firefighter. We don’t know what he’s doing, and a lot of equipment’s going. It’s kind of a bad deal made worse by what they’re trying to do to protect us.

“We’re the only city I know of anywhere that does three versions of the citizens academy program on a regular basis, in-depth the way we do,” Winchell said. “What it does for us as city employees is remind us that we’re part of this community, not separate. We’re looking at real faces who appreciate the work we do, and we do not want to disappoint you, believe it or not.”

Former state Rep. Tracy Pennartz, a member of the league’s board of directors, recommended all the academies.

“But the firefighters’ academy is really fun and educational,” she said. “Plus, it gives you a lot of good information to do in your own house if a fire was to occur, things you wouldn’t normally think of.”

League member Delores McMillan said she took part in a fire academy.

“I’m afraid of heights,” she said. “But the thing I really remember about going to the Fire Department (academy) is going up in that bucket. You can see all over Fort Smith. I thought I wouldn’t like it, but it was beautiful.”